In my kitchen we are not fancy or complicated but we are healthy- most of the time- and we are really all about ease and basic ingredients! I love to cook but the less time spent in the kitchen the better- I would rather be outside and so for all those families thinking about school lunches or snack times ( a first for us around these parts this year) I present to you my really easy friendly granola bar recipe. Now I am not sure why kids are completely obsessed with those tiny pre- packaged cardboard like treats that pass as granola bars but rest assured not only is this a litter free treat ( no wrappers) but it can be tailored to your liking- crunchy or chewy- however you like it!
Easy Peasy Granola Bars
I adapted this recipe from my mom's original granola recipe- plus made it nut free for The Boy's school snacks. You can tailor this to pretty much any combination you want- add slivered almonds, peanuts, walnuts or coconut - as long as it adds up to a cup of nuts and seeds of some sort.
The Goods
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup raisins, or dried cranberries or currents
1 cup nuts and seeds
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup honey or maple syrup
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg beaten
2/3 cup melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
The Deal
combine all the dry ingredients together, melt butter or if you are in a pinch you can use olive oil- add to mixture along with beaten egg and vanilla. Combine thoroughly. Press firmly into a greased 15x10 pan. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until edges are lightly brown. If you want a crunchier bar- leave in the oven while keeping a very close eye on things for another 5 or so minutes. Do not take your eyes off your bars otherwise they may burn. Cool and cut into squares or bars- enjoy with a cuppa tea or for the under five set and big glass of milk!
ps- as you can probably tell from the picture above there are chocolate chips in this particular batch- I say if a hand full of good quality dark chocolate chips is going to get your kid to eat this granola bar then go for it!
I have been looking for a recipe like this! Thank you so much!!! I will make these later this week.
ReplyDeleteOh I would love to hear how they turned out! I made a batch yesterday as well and the kids picked out all the raisins and pumpkin seeds- but at least all that dissecting of granola bars kept them occupied for a few minutes!
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